Differences between the two trajectories persist in opioid fills, misuse beyond 12 months<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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THURSDAY, May 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) — High- and low-risk trajectories are identifiable for youth following their first opioid prescription, according to a study published online April 22 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n J. Deanna Wilson, M.D., from the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues evaluated patterns of opioid prescribing following the first prescription using group-based trajectory modeling and examined the patient-, clinician-, and prescription-level factors affecting first-year trajectories. Pennsylvania Medicaid enrollees’ claims data (2010 through 2016) were used to identify 189,477 opioid-naive youths aged 10 to 21 years at the time of first opioid prescription.<\/p>\n The researchers found that during the subsequent year, 25.1 percent of individuals received at least one additional prescription. The two-group trajectory model had the best fit. Of those in the high-risk trajectory, 65.3 percent filled opioid prescriptions at month 12 versus 13.1 percent in the low-risk trajectory. The high-risk trajectory had a higher median age versus the low-risk trajectory (19.0 versus 17.8 years). Additionally, the high-risk trajectory received more potent prescriptions versus the low-risk trajectory (median dosage of the index month, 10.0 versus 4.7 morphine milligram equivalents\/day, respectively). More youths in the high-risk trajectory went on to receive a diagnosis of opioid use disorder than the low-risk trajectory group beyond 12 months (30.0 versus 10.1 percent).<\/p>\n “Among the highest-risk trajectory, even short and low-dose opioid prescriptions were associated with increased risk of persistent opioid use,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n